School of Social and Political Science

Background

Martyna investigates how the process of migration affects the formation and narration of the self, particularly through personal memory artefacts, diaries, bureaucratic artefacts, and storytelling. Focusing on the case of Polish migration to Scotland, Martyna examines how migrant subjectivity is shaped through everyday acts of documentation and self-representation, and how these processes contribute to broader narratives of belonging and integration, particularly in the context of fluid post-communist identities.

Writing is central to her practice not only as a mode of production, but rather as a method of inquiry, thinking, and relating. Her current project questions the epistemological tensions within social scientific writing, and explores the role which narrative, biography, memory, and experience play in shaping research. 

Martyna moved to Edinburgh in 2005. 

Supervision

Prof Richard Freeman 
Prof Jonathan Wyatt

Qualifications

MScR Social and Political Science, The University of Edinburgh, 2021
BA (Hons) Politics and International Relations, The University of Edinburgh, 2019

Scholarships and awards 

Alice Brown PhD Scholarship, Social and Political Science, 2025
AdvanceHE Aurora Women in Leadership, 2025

Teaching 

tutor on:

• Comparative Politics in the Globalised World 
• Research Design in Politics and International relations 
• Politics of the Welfare State 
• Comparative Social Policy: Global Perspectives 
• Sociology 1B: The Sociological Imagination 
• Politics and International Relations: Concepts and Debates

Memberships

European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)
European International Studies Association (EISA)